Hylian Creed
by HeavyArtillery
Summary: "We guard Hyrule, fighting a war from the shadows, silently killing those who work to forward Evil's agenda. You will not find us, for we are hidden among the people. A blacksmith, an aristocrat, a lumberjack, an artisan, or a craftsman, we do not care from which walk of life you are from, just as long as you can fight and have desire to see Hyrule freed." Colonial AU
1. Chapter 1

The Legend of Zelda: Hylian Creed

**This story is something that came to me one day while playing Assassin's Creed 3. I thought it would be cool to see something like the Assassin's Brotherhood and Templar Order overlaid into the Zelda Universe. Also, this story takes place in Hyrule's equivalent of the Colonial Era, With gunpowder commonplace. Please read and review!**

August 17, 1762

It was raining.

Dawn had just broke as the boy realized this. He sat within an alley way between to brick houses, hugging his knees to his chest, reliving the horrors of what had happened but a few hours earlier.

_He woke to the sound of someone pounding on the door of his parent's small cottage. "Open up!" He heard a irritated voice yell from outside. He slide out of his bed and made his way to the doorway of his room and peeked out to find his father loading his musket and his mother staring at the door with fearful eyes, both not seeing the small blond boy's eyes staring at them._

"_Do you think they know?" He heard his mother ask the father. His father finished loading the musket and glanced at his wife. "I'm not taking any chances." He answered before aiming the rifle at the door. "Who is it?!" he called out to the person banging on the door._

_The knocking stopped, and the boy could here the man mumbling, as if conversing with someone else before responding. "You know damn well who it is Avalon! Open the bloody door before I knock it in."_

"_You will leave now!" The boy's father yelled out. "I'm warning you! I'm armed!"_

_There was silence in the air, then the boy heard a dark, baritone voice say. "Do it."_

_Suddenly the door was blasted off it's hinges by a large explosion that shook the home. The boy covered his ears and grunted in pain. The volume of the sound had sent them ringing, but he could still hear._

_Four men rushed into the dwelling, armed with swords and flintlock pistols, pointing them at the boy's mother and the now barely conscious form of his father. Another man entered the house, and upon seeing the couple gave a small smirk. The man had dark skin of the Gerudo, with bright golden eyes and flaming red hair the was slicked back and a well-trimmed beard of the same color. He wore an obviously expensive traveling cloak and boots._

"_Ah Avalon, pleasure to see you again." The dark man said._

_The boy's father stirred. "Goddesses damn you." He muttered, before breaking into cough. The boy felt a chill down his spine at the sight of a large splotch of blood at his father's abdomen._

_The Gerudo saw as well. He lifted up his foot and drove it into the wound causing the father to cry out in agony. The boy's mother screamed for the dark man to stop, clawing at him, but the other men roughly grabbed her and pushed her up against a wall, smacking her repeatedly until she stopped struggling and screaming._

_The Gerudo bent down until his face was inches away for Avolon's. "I thought I told you to disband your little organization." He growled dangerously. "I thought I told that if you ended your little cause that all would be forgiven." He dug the heel of his boot deeper into the wound. "But you didn't, did you? And now we are here, aren't we, _Knight_? "_

"_We will never surrender to the likes of you, _Disciple._" Avalon replied, gritting his teeth through the pain._

"_Yes, I should have realized that sooner." The dark man said. "I should have realized that there is only one way to deal with you people." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a dual-barrel flintlock and leveled it at Avalon's head. The boy's father stared unflinchingly into the dark man's eyes. "Do not worry, Avalon, the rest of your kind will be joining you shortly." The Gerudo said with a hint of excitement. Avalon didn't respond as he continued to stare at the Gerudo with a deep hatred. The boy's mother had began to sob. The Gerudo grinned and pulled the trigger, emptying one of the barrels contents into the head of Avalon._

_The Gerudo straightened himself over the body of Avalon, and looked over to his wife, who was sobbing uncontrollably. He raised the pistol to her head. "Any last words?" He said mockingly. Her eyes scanned the room, and landed on the boy's eyes peeking out from the entrance of his room._

"_RUN LINK, RUN!" She screeched. The boy's eyes widened as the men turned towards him. Without thinking he ran past the men who tried to catch him, past the dark man holding a gun to his mother's head, past the remain of the door and into the night. He ran, not knowing where he was going. He ran until the dirt roads and countryside became cobblestone streets and brick buildings. He ran until he could run no more and he finally collapse in the alley, and began bawling his eyes out..._

The boy now sat, emotionless as he watched the city wake up. People soon flooded the tight, cobblestone streets, headed towards their workplaces or chatting with their friends. Guards patrolled the streets in groups, maintaining order and preventing crime while vendors went about, calling out their wares, trying to be heard over the town crier who was yelling out the latest news.

Through it all, the boy sat, staring at the ground. He didn't notice when a man broke away from the commuting masses until he was kneeling next to the boy. The boy looked up to see an old, bearded face studying him. Many wrinkles were covered by a white bread and mustache. The old man wore a blacksmith's apron over a green shirt and black breeches. The old man reached out and rested a hand on the boy's small shoulder. The old man was surprisingly muscular for one of his age.

"I've been looking for you." The old man said quietly. "We need to get off the streets, it's not safe for you." With that, the old man stood up. The boy found himself standing with him.

"Follow me, and keep close."

The old man began to walk away, with the boy following closely behind. The man's imposing frame easily parted the crowd, all the boy had to do was follow closely behind. They walked for what seemed like an hour before they arrived in front of one of the many brick houses of the city. Unlike the many other brick houses, this one had a sign containing a single word.

_Blacksmith_

The old man looked around warily before pulling a key out of his pocket and inserted it in the keyhole turning it and unlocking the door. He pushed it open and beckoned for the boy to enter. "Quickly, get inside." The boy went inside and was followed by the old man who closed the door behind him. He looked seemingly relived to get off the street. He looked at the boy.

"I suppose you're hungry?" He asked. The boy was about to answer no when his stomach gave out a loud rumble and he realized it was hurting for the lack of a meal today. The Boy nodded to answer the man's question.

The old man smiled. "Of course you do." He walked passed the boy and entered what the boy assumed was the home's kitchen. After a moment's deliberation, the boy decided to follow.

Upon entering the kitchen, the old man gestured for the boy to sit down at a small table near the wall. The boy watched silently as his new host threw some bread and cheese on to two plates and pour water from a clay jug into two wooden cups. He took the meals to the table and passed one plate to the boy.

"Thank you." The boy murmured as he took the plate and began to eat ravenously. The old man ate as well, but at a much slower pace. The boy quickly finished eating. With the plate empty except for a few crumbs, the boy pushed it away and began staring intently at his host.

"Yes?" The old man asked.

"Who are you?" The boy asked.

"Well, my name is Smith." The old man said. "But your parents often called me Gramps." Smith chuckled softly, but stopped as the boy's face fell. "By the way, I'm sorry about your mother and father." He said solemnly.

"It's not your fault." The boy muttered, looking down at his feet. Both sat in silence for several seconds. "I'm Link." the boy said, looking back up.

"I know." Smith nodded. "You may not remember it, but I was there when you were born four years ago."

Link was taken aback. "But..."

"I never did get around to visiting your home after that." Smith went on. "If I did, you'd already know who I am."

Both sat in silence once again. Link shifted uncomfortably, before remembering the sign he had saw upon arriving. "Are you a blacksmith?" He asked.

Smith raised an eyebrow and nodded. "That I am, how'd you guess?"

"The sign outside said 'blacksmith'."

Smith squinted at him. "You can read, boy?"

Link nodded vigorously. "My mama taught me some before..." He trailed off, remembering that night.

Smith stood up. "Not common for one as young as yourself to know how to read some." He commented.

Link stood with him. "If you're a blacksmith, do you make swords and stuff for heroes?" He asked eagerly.

Smith chuckled. "I don't know about heroes, but I do get the occasional order from the Grand Army."

"From soldiers?" The boy asked in awe, causing his host to chuckle even more.

"Yep." He puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm the best blacksmith in all of Hyrule, and those soldiers know it." He picked up the empty plates and cup and placed them on a counter. Link followed him.

"How old are you, ?" Link asked.

"That's a rude thing to ask, boy." Smith said. "But to statisfy your curiosity, I'm about to turn fifty in a month."

"That's old." Link commented abruptly, causing Smith to laugh. "You'd be right there boy, but I'm twice as strong as any man half my age. You want to know why?"

"Why?" Link asked, extremely curious.

"Because I ate my vegetables, that's why." He grinned, ruffling Link's blond hair. "Say, you wouldn't want to see the forge, would you?"

"I wanna see the forge!" Link said excitedly.

"Right then, follow me. It's right out back, and don't touch anything, got it?"

Link nodded as he followed Smith out the house into a back area shared by several other houses. The forge sat right outside of the backdoor to Smith's home, next to the forge were several well-crafted swords.

Link ran over to the swords and looked them over. "These are pretty cool, Mr. Smith."

"Thanks there Link, and call me Gramps. I'd rather have you calling me that while you live here."

Link's head shot up. "Living here?"

"What do you think I brought you here for?" Smith grinned. "I'll be damned if I let the son of Avalon Gaiden sleep on the streets or some orphanage."

Link was stunned." But-"

"No buts, Link." Smith took a seat by the forge. "How bout you come over here, and I'll teach you a thing or two about smithing. Who knows? Maybe you'll be taking over the business one day." He winked.

Link hesitantly walked over, still processing the information. He had just lost his home that night, only to find a new one that morning. It seemed too good to be true, and he thought Smith might be playing a joke on him. But upon seeing the genuine smile on the old man's face, Link knew it was true. He stood next to Smith, who laid his hand on the boy's shoulder in a fatherly way. "Alright Link, let's teach you the basics of the forge first..."


	2. Chapter 2

October 22 1762

Roughly two months had passed since Link moved in with Smith and Autumn had set in with most trees turning brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. Most of the time had been spent cooped up within the house. Smith rarely let him outside, and only under supervision and within the backyard. "It's for your own safety." Smith would say whenever Link complained. "Give it a few months and you can run around wherever you want."

But Link didn't understand why he couldn't run around _now_. The city was big and the person who he thought would hurt was the dark man, and he doubted that the dark man would find him while walking in the streets.

Link would often use that reasoning to try and convince Smith to let him. "You'd be surprised." Smith would always answer. "Now how bout you go off and draw a picture or somethin'."

Due to his confinement to within the house, Link would often be in the sitting room when there would be a knock at the door. On a weekly basis, men and women would arrive at Smith's door. Some seemed like regular townsfolk, but others were armed to the teeth with knives, swords, and pistols and they wore hoods that obscured their eyes. Smith would always send Link upstairs to his room whenever one of these people arrived.

However, Link didn't like being kept in the dark nor did he appreciate his current restrictions. So one night the boy decided to

"...practically wiped us out, they did." He heard a tired male voice say. "That boy's parents weren't the only casualties."

"How much of us were killed?" He heard Smith ask.

The visitor sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. I've heard rumors that about eighty percent of our Order has been destroyed."

It was Smith's turn to sigh. "By the gods, that much?"

"Indeed." Link heard the scrapping back of a chair. "Now you'll have to excuse me Smith, but I must meet with the Grandmaster immediately." There was another sound of a chair moving back. "But of course Eagus." Smith responded.

Link realized that both were headed towards the door, where the stairwell he was eavesdropping in was next to. In a slight panic, he scurried back upstairs and busied himself with doodling on a piece of parchment. He stopped once he heard the front door slam close, and hesitantly made his way back down stairs.

Smith was sitting in a armchair in front of the house's fireplace, looking extremely worried.

"Gramps?"

Smith started and gave Link a look of shock. "Link?! Sorry, I didn't see you there." Link stood there awkwardly. "Uh..."

"Your dinner is in the kitchen." Smith said, waving his hand in the general direction. Link nodded and went off, returning with a bowl of soup and a cup of water. He sat on the floor near Smith and began to eat. Smith continued to stare at the hearth, looking lost in thought.

Halfway through his meal, Link spoke up. "Gramps?" Smith turned his gaze to the boy. "Yes, my boy?"

Link shifted a bit, looking at his meal before looking back up to Smith. "Who are the people that keep coming over? And why do I have to go upstairs every time?"

Smith turned his gaze back to the hearth and didn't respond immediately. After a minute he said in a tired voice. "You're too young to understand, my boy."

"No I'm not!" cried the four-year-old indignantly. "I can be as grown up as you!"

This caused the old man to chuckle. "Sure you can, Link. But I'm not telling you. Now once you're finish eating, I want you to head off to bed, okay?"

Link huffed in anger, and finished his meal in silence. Once down, he unceremoniously dumped his bowl and cup into a growing pile of dirty dishes. _Gramps is probably going to make take these to wash at the well tomorrow. _the boy thought grumpily.

"Good night, Gramps." Link said as he began ascending the stairs.

"G'night, my boy." Smith called from the armchair

Once in his room, the boy changed into his sleeping clothes and slid into his bed. "What's Gramps hiding?" He asked to no one in particular. He sighed, coming up with several wild theories before he drifted off into sleep.

October 29 1762

A week had passed since Link eavesdropped on Smith and his visitor. No other strange people had come to speak with Smith, and Link put the meeting at the back of his mind. It was morning, and both Link and Smith sat together eating porridge. Both ate in a comfortable silence. When Link was done, he offered to take Smith's empty bowl as well.

"Little gentleman, are ya?" Smith said jokingly with a wink as Link took the wooden bowls and dumped in the sink.

"Hey Link." The boy turned to look at the old man.

"Yes Gramps?" He asked sullenly, expecting the old man to tell him to do some chore.

"How would you like to go with me somewhere today?"

Link perked up immediately. "Like outside?" He asked excitedly.

Smith nodded. "It's definitely outside this house. Want to come?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then go get ready, my boy. Meet me out front when you are." Smith said.

Link hurried upstairs and into his room in order to change into proper clothing. When he emerged, he was wearing a cotton jacket that was left unbuttoned revealing a white undershirt and brown, full length pants with regular black shoes. All of which had been gifted to him by Smith. He practically ran downstairs where he found the old man waiting. Smith had taken off his blacksmith's apron, and donned a similar jacket as Link's.

"Ready boy?" Smith asked.

"Yes sir, Gramps!" Link chirped enthusiastically.

Smith chuckled as he opened the door and ushered Link out before following and locking the door. The pair began to make their way down the street. "Where are we going, Gramps?" Link asked, looking up at the old man. "To see an old friend of mine." Smith responded. "He used to be the King of Hyrule, you know."

"I thought Hyrule had a parliament instead of a King, Gramps."

Smith squinted at the boy. "We may have a parliament now, boy, but that doesn't mean we never had a king." Link stared up at him blankly, causing the old man to sigh. "I suppose you never heard of the Grand Revolution either, have you?"

"What's that, Gramps?" Link questioned.

Smith sighed again and gave out a small chuckle. "I suppose I have to give you a history lesson, eh?" Not waiting for a response, Smith began to talk. "Now you see, boy, ten years before you were born, in..." He thought for a second. "...1748! That's the year. Anyways, that year something called the Grand Revolution happened. Basically, the people got tired of the monarchy. Not that the king was doing a bad job, it's just that the people wanted something called Democracy-"

"I know what democracy is!" Link piped up excitedly, loud enough to draw curious looks from passersby.

"That's good to know, boy. Now I won't have to explain it to you." Smith cleared his throat. "Anyways, back to what I was saying, the people wanted to rule themselves, so they went to the castle..." He pointed off into the distance, where Link could see the top most towers of the Great Castle of Hyrule peeking over the roof tops. "... and asked the King to step down. Now you have too understand Link, this wasn't a small group of men. I was there, in the castle, when it happened, and it seemed like half the country came! The king saw that as well, boy and he stepped down peacefully. Everyone really appreciated that. If he hadn't, the whole country might have been plunged into a civil war. As thanks, Parliament's first act was to grant the king and his family a sizable fortune and a place of residence."

"Did you know the king when he was still a king?" Link asked.

Smith chuckled. "Heavens no, he was much too important and busy then."

"Then how'd you meet him."

Smith hesitated. "Uh, well, let's just say we were brought together by... _shared interests_."

"What kind of interests?" Link questioned.

"The kind that you aren't going to find out about, my boy."

Link frowned. "Why not?"

"Because you aren't, and leave at that."

"Fine." Link huffed.

The pair continued to walk. Within an hour, the two were near the outskirts of the city, entering what some would call the "rich" part of town. The streets were cleaner, shops nicer, and everyone one wore visible expensive clothing.

Smith led Link down the street till they were standing in front of a pair of iron-wrought gates. One sole guard sat dozing, though he jerked awake as Smith and Link approached and put his musket at his shoulder.

"Mornin' Mr Smith." The guard said gruffly.

"Good morning, John." Smith responded.

"I suppose you're here to see Master Nohansen?"

"You know it." Smith said with smile.

"Right. I'll open the gate." John the guard removed a large key from his pocket and shoved it roughly into an old rusted lock. With considerable effort, he turned the key and gate swung open. "Damned thing." John the guard said, kicking the gate.

"I've offered to make a new lock several times." Smith commented as he pushed through the gate, pushing Link in front of him.

"Yeah, well, the man is as stubborn as he is wise." The guard gave a small chuckle. "Say, who's that chap?" He asked, nodding at Link. Before Link could introduce himself, Smith laid a hand on his shoulder and said. "Avalon's and Elfina's boy."

John the guard nodded. "Aye, terrible thing. You have my condolences." He said to Link.

Link shifted uncomfortably, but Smith saved him from answering by pushing him down the path and saying. "If you excuse us now John, but I have important matters to attend to."

The guard waved them off. "Of course, don't let me keep ya."

The pair began walking along the path leading up to a manor at the top of a hill. It took at least five minutes to arrive at the manor's front steps.

Smith knocked on the manor's front door. After a few seconds the door opened and an old, short maid peeked out. "Yes?"

"I'm here to see Mister Nohansen." Smith answered.

The maid blinked at Smith's face curiously before a look of realization spread across her face. "Ah! Mr. Smith! Of course, of course, come in, come in! I barely recognized you!" She stepped back and allowed the pair to pass through the threshold. She gave a warm smile to Link before speaking again with Smith. "I'll go fetch Master Nohansen. You just wait right here."

The woman went off deeper into the mansion. Within a minute she returned with a man. The man seemed to be in his early thirties, and had a large uni brow. He wore and dark purple suit with knee high stockings and a tan waistcoat. He smiled at seeing Smith. "Smith, old friend! How are you?"

"Quite well." Smith said as he embraced the man in a brotherly way. "How's the family?"

"They're doing very good. Though my daughter has been trying to sneak out lately. Adventurous girl, maybe a little too much."

Smith laughed, and then gestured at Link. "This here's Avalon's son."

"Pleased to meet you, your majesty." Link said quietly.

Both men looked at each other and burst out laughing. "He's not king anymore, Link!" Smith chuckled. "You're not supposed to call him that!"

Link felt his face heat up in embarrassment. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's quite all right." The not-king said. He bent down on one knee so he was level with the boy. "I'm Gaepora. And you are?"

"My name's Link."

"Pleasure to meet you Link." Gaepora held out his hand which Link hesitantly shook. "Now Link, Smith and I have important things to discuss. If you'd like, you can go into the gardens out back. I believe my daughter is there. She's about your age."

Link nodded. "Okay."

"Just walk down this hall and you should reach the backdoors in no time."

Link nodded again and began walking down the hallway. The two men departed, talking in low voices.

Link continued down the hallway which was decorated with several paintings depicting many scenes. Link partiulary like one of the painting that depicted a battle at sea. He moved passed the paintings and arrived at a set of ornate white wooden doors. Hesitantly he pushed them open and found himself outside, looking out to a large garden. He could see that is had at least four large fountains, a series of hedges that seemed like it could be a small, simple maze, and dozens of flower beds overshadowed by large oak trees.

He walked near one of the flowers beds. They were empty, as the flowers no doubt died off at the first chill. Link continued through the garden, entering the hedges. It was a maze, but nothing Link couldn't figure out. He arrived in the middle in no time. In the center was a small pond. Link looked into it and saw dozens of small fish swimming about. He sat down, mesmerized by the aquatic creatures that he never heard a set of footsteps come up from behind.

"Hi!" A voice practically bellowed into Link's ear, causing to nearly jump into the pond, though he caught himself at the last second. Link spun around to find a young girl his age wearing a fancy pink dress and grinning at him, with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Who are you?!" Link asked the girl, somewhat angrily.

"Who are _you_?" The girl asked, still grinning.

"I asked first!"

"I asked second!"

Link huffed, but decided he rather not fight. "I'm Link." He grumbled just loud enough for the girl to hear him.

Her grin transformed into a full blown smile. "I'm Zelda!" She said happily, and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Link shook her hand cautiously. "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you to." He said in a neutral voice.

Zelda froze, staring intently at Link's face. "You're weird." She said causing Link's face to sour. "I like you!" She abruptly proclaimed. "You're my best friend, okay?"

Not waiting for Link to respond, she grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him along. "C'mon, best friend! Let's go play Princess and Hero!"

"What?!" Link said, yanking his arm from Zelda's grasp.

Zelda gave him a very serious look. "I'm the princess, you're a hero. You have to save me evil monsters."

Link thought about saying no, that he would rather play something else than a dumb game like that. He thought about, but decided against it, namely because the only game he could think up at the moment was tag and he doubt she could play it in her dress.

"Fine, let's play." He grumbled.

"Yay!" Zelda grabbed his arm again and went off with him in tow.

The rest of the day was spent playing that game, which consisted of Zelda ordering Link fighting off imaginary monsters that only she could see. Despite his previous misgivings about the game of choice, Link found himself having fun. Zelda's bright, bubbly personality was difficult to dislike, even if she was just sitting around watching Link pretend to beat up things with a stick.

Eventually, the sun was setting and Smith came out calling Link's name. Link quickly stopped playing with his new friend and ran towards Smith with Zelda following him. He found Smith near the entrance of the gardens , followed by a tall women wearing hooded robes of dark purple that ended around her knees. She was also heavily armed, very similar to some of the strangers that had visited Smith in past months. She had two short swords sheathed around her waist along with several flintlock pistols holstered.

Link was taken a back by this person, and apparently Zelda was too. "Impa?" She asked. "Why are you dressed like that?"

The woman, Impa, pushed back her hood to show her face. She had dark, red eyes, white-blond hair pulled back into a bun and a orange tattoo of an eye symbol on her cheek. Her skin was considerably darker than Link's, Smith's, or Zelda's and it Link a few seconds for Link to realize that she was a Shiekah, a sub-race of humans his father had told him about.

"I have just returned from traveling." Impa replied pleasantly to Zelda's inquiry, before turning to Smith. "Smith, I must ask you of something before you go..."

Zelda seemed unconvincing, eying the weapons around the Shiekah's waist. Link leaned over to her and whispered. "Is she not supposed to have those?"

Zelda shook her head. "She's my nanny. I don't nannies are suppose to have those."

"Link!"

The two children started and looked guiltily at Smith.

"Are you ready to go now, boy?" Smith asked.

"Yes Gramps."

Meanwhile Impa had taken Zelda by the shoulder. "Come now, you must get ready for supper." She said, steering away from Link and towards the house. "Bye Link!" The girl called over her shoulder.

"Bye, Zelda!" Link called back.

Smith grinned. "I suppose the two of you had fun?"

Link nodded.

"Good!" Smith grinned. "I guess I'll have to bring you by more often, won't I."

Link grinned in response.

"Alright, let's get going." Smith smiled, and the two departed the mansion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

April 12, 1767

As Link grew, Smith taught him how to use the forge with more and more advanced techniques.

"An honest trade, smithing is." Smith would often say with a grin as the two worked the forge side by side. Smith also saw to Link's education, tutoring him on his own, declaring the small public school near the center of town too slow for a young man such as Link.

Smith was very inconsistent with his lessons, sometimes teaching the boy about history, in which the old man was very knowledgeable in. However, Smith didn't know much in sciences or mathematics. To compensate, the old man began teaching Link things that, in Smith's words, "mattered more than some fancy numbers magic" like how to read other people's body language, how to climb and run throughout the city in a fluid way (though Smith was too old to keep up with Link, so instead he sat at the side, giving the boy tips), and even basics on swordplay.

Whenever Link questioned how Smith learned these things, the old man's face would take on a cryptic look. "I wasn't always a blacksmith." Smith would say in a mysterious voice and refused to elaborate.

As Link grew older in Smith's household, he got a growing suspicion that there was something more to the kindly old blacksmith. Strange people continued to visit Smith every so often, but not with the frequency they did in the first few months of living with him. Some would visit in the middle of the day when Link was out and about (Smith had relaxed his ban on the boy leaving the house shortly after Link met Zelda for unknown reasons) and the boy would come home to find them talking in hushed tones, often catching odd words like _knights_, _disciples_, and _war _before spotting Link and stopped talking.

To Link, it made no sense on way they were talking about those things. Knights didn't exist anymore. Guns had made them useless. And did disciples follow leaders around? And war. Hyrule wasn't at war, though the Kingdom of Termina to the West had been growing more and more belligerent. _Perhaps they still use knights._ Link reasoned, before putting to the back of his mind.

Roughly five years had passed since Link's and Zelda's first meeting. In those years, the two had truly become best friends. Link would often head up to the Nohansen mansion to visit Zelda, where the two would often have fun playing in the gardens or within the mansion itself. However, the frequency of Link's visit were often not satisfactory for Zelda. She would often visit Smith's home herself, usually without her parents permission or escort.

The young girl also took it upon herself to teach Link in "fancy numbers magic" often quoting her father's words about how math was very important when Link refused. So Link was taught math by Zelda, who seemed to like having the role of a teacher.

When Zelda wasn't forced mathematics down Links throat, the pair were often having "adventures" throughout the city, whether is was simply walking through the streets to attempt to steal an apple from a merchant not to pleased at their antics.

Today, however, Link's wasn't expecting for Zelda to come to Smith's house early in the morning, marching upstairs and literally pushing Link out of bed before whacking him with his own pillow over and over again till he was wide awake.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Zelda said cheerfully as she continued her assault.

"Stop it!" Link held his arms up to stop the attack. Hanging just outside the door way was Smith, who was grinning at Zelda's antics. "I think you woke him up enough."

Zelda stopped, holding the pillow above his head. She wore a purple hooded shawl over a bright red dress. "Are you awake enough?" She asked with a grin.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Link said, keeping his hands above his head, ready to stop any more incoming pillow attacks.

Zelda hesitated for a second, undoubtedly wanting to resume the attack. However, she decided against it and threw the pillow back on the bed. "Are you ready for today?" She asked Link excitedly, practically bouncing up and down in eagerness.

"Ready for what?" Link asked.

"The Spring Festival, boy." Smith said from the doorway. "I recall you promised Miss Nohansen here that you would go with her."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Link mumbled, scratching the back of his head. Zelda suddenly pulled him to his feet. "Well hurry up and get ready then!" She ordered, before marching out the room past Smith. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

Smith grinned jovially. "Better do what the lady says Link." He chuckled before leaving and closing the door behind him. Link sighed and started to get ready. Within five minutes the boy had thrown on some clothing and was walking down the steps. Zelda was waiting for and immediately grabbed him by his sleeve and began dragging him towards the door.

"Wait!" Link said, yanking his sleeve out of her grasp. "I haven't eaten breakfast yet!"

Zelda crossed her arms. "You can eat at the Festival! Now come on, let's go!" She grabbed his arm yanked his towards the door.

"She's right, boy!" Link heard Smith call from kitchen. "Just go to the festival!"

Link frowned. "Fine." He grumbled. Zelda grinned, pushing out the door. "Alright! Let's be going!"

Link followed out into the street and the pair began walking down it, headed for the Grand Plaza near the center of town. Zelda pulled her shawl's hood over her head, mindful that her face was well-known and likely to attract attention. Link walked beside his hooded friend and the two continued of their way to the festival.

"I'm so excited, Link!" She said happily. This would be here first time ever at the Spring Festival, which celebrated the renewal of life after the chill of winter passed. Link, however, had attended the festival dozens of times before, with and without Smith. He was much more preoccupied with his stomach, which was growling angrily.

"Why couldn't you have let me eat something before we left?" He grumped, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh, don't be like that Link." Zelda said, throwing on her sweetest smile.

"Hmph." Link turned away.

"If I purchase food for you, will you stop being such a grump?"

"Maybe."

"It's a one-time offer." She said with a grin. "Yes or no?"

Link sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"Excellent!" Zelda said, clapping her hands together. She picked up her pass and moved ahead. "Come now! And remember you must begin smiling!"

"I'll smile when I get my food." Link muttered before going to catch up with the girl.

Xxxxxx

Soon the two where at the Grand Plaza, which was packed with colorful stalls, street performers and citizens. Zelda had quickly followed up on her promise, buying him several fresh fruits from one of the several stalls. The two walked together, Zelda looking around with amazement. "I've never seen so many different things in one place before!" She exclaimed. Link shrugged and continued to eat.

"Let's go play some of the games!" Zelda said, grabbing the boy and dragging him through the plaza. The two spent the rest of the day running about, having fun. Link's earlier bad mood had gone. They went from stall to stall, playing games and looking at the trinkets for sale. Zelda had bought quite a few and offered to purchase some for Link, but he declined. Zelda had plenty of money from her father, but any money Smith made usually went towards food or to the bank. Smith never actually gave Link a few rupees to have, and Link rather not be reminded that compared to his best friend he was dirt poor compared to her.

Night fell and it seemed like the entire city had squeezed itself into the Grand Plaza. Link and Zelda stood in front of a booth titled "Test-Your-Strength" and had a hammer bell.

"Step right up!" A short, bald man was calling out. "Are you strong enough to hit the bell? Come and find out!"

Zelda moved forward with an air of confidence. "I bet I could do it!" She said cockily. "Is that so, lass?" The man grinned. "That'd be five rupees."

Zelda gave him the money and then went to pick up the mallet needed to play the game with some difficultly. She stumbled over to the hammer bell, steadied herself, and slammed down the mallet causing the peg to go halfway up the bell before falling back down.

"Ah, better luck next time." The man said, patting a crestfallen Zelda as she returned to Link before she brightened up. "You should try it!"

"I don't really want to." Link said.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." Link answered, looking down and kicking the ground before looking back at Zelda. "Kind of seems like a scam though."

Before Zelda could continue the conversation, both were slammed to the side by a rather large redheaded youth. "Get out the way, pipsqueaks." The boy snarled as he walked pass.

"Hey!" Zelda cried out indignantly. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Someone who's better than you." The boy sneered before paying up to the man, grabbing a mallet, and slamming the bell so hard that Link though he broke it. As he collected a prize, the boy glared over at the pair. "Name's Groose. And I'm the best there is. Remember that, pipsqueaks." He sauntered off.

Zelda stuck out her tongue at his retreating back. "What a arrogant piece of-" Zelda's words were drowned by the immensely loud ringing coming from the center of the Grand Plaza while Link shot her a horrified look.

"Oh!"Zelda looked towards the source of the cacophony. "I wonder what's going on."

Link shrugged. To be honest, he didn't care much about it.

Zelda stared off at the center of the grand plaza before grabbing Link's sleeve and dragging him along to the source of the excitement. Pushing their way through the crowd, Link saw a pencil-thin man standing upon a hastily constructed platform. "Hear ye! Hear ye! I have received word of the gravest news!" The man cried. "So grave and so important, that Minister Ganondorf himself has come down to speak of it!" The man gestured behind him to a group of several men. Link couldn't tell which was the Great Minister until he stepped forward and Link's heart stopped.

"Citizens of Hyrule." The Great Minister said in the dark, baritone voice that haunted Link's nightmares. "The Kingdom of Termina has declared war on Hyrule. We received word of them attacking several of our border settlements without provocation." There was several gasps of shock throughout the assembled crowd. Link was staring in shock at the Great Minister, not because of the news, but because of who he was. "Rest assured," The Great Minister continued. "Our armies will undoubtedly defeat the Terminan aggressor."

"Link?" Zelda whispered in a concerned voice. "Are you okay? You're so white."

Link barely registered her words until she continued to nudged him. "Link? What's wrong.?"

The boy finally snapped out of it, his eye falling downwards. "The Great Minister." He choked out.

"Yes? What about him?"

"He's the one that killed my parents."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

March 21, 1774

Almost seven years had passed since Link found out that the man who murdered his parents was in charge of the country. He woke every day knowing there was nothing he could do to bring the Great Minister to justice. After all, who would believe a simple teenager over the esteemed leader of the nation.

The war with Termina dragged on through those seven years, and neither side was any closer to victory than the day the war began. The front had settled into a bitter stalemate on the Goronic Mountain Range. With the war came food shortages, as Terminan Calvary raided the countryside destroying farmland, but did not have the strength to threaten anything larger than a village. Commerce was endangered by privateers attacking shipments. There were riots every week, mostly in protest of the exorbitant tax rates that Parliament imposed on the people to fund the war.

Smith was spared from these taxes. The fact that he was a blacksmith and therefore critical to the war effort had made him exempt from taxes that had thrown many other Hylians into poverty. Link took on a bigger and bigger workload as the years passed, taking some pressure off the old man. Smith continued to teach Link the black-smithing trade, along with swordplay and navigating fluidly through obstacles.

In those seven years, Link matured from a small boy, into a strong young man. Working the forge made him lean and muscular while running throughout the city gave him stamina and agility.

Zelda would visit him occasionally, but her visits became less frequent as she took more responsibility in managing her family's affairs. Her father began to forbid her from entering the city, seeing as unescorted aristocrats were prime targets for the discontented masses to take their anger out on. More often than not, it was Link who went to visit Zelda. He tried to visit the manor at least twice a month with Smith accompanying him on occasion. However, visits to the Nohansen Manor were usually Link's idea, and when Smith burst outside while Link was sharpening a sword for an order, and practically yelled at him to get ready to head up to the Manor, Link was rightfully surprised.

"Why?" He asked, setting the sword to the side.

"It's a surprise." Smith answered mysteriously. "Now go put a less-dirty shirt on and let's get moving."

"But Gramps-"

"No buts! Hurry up! We're not going to be late." The old man said impatiently.

Link sighed and stood, running inside, up the stairs, and in his room to switch into a shirt that wasn't covered in ash and singed at the edges. When he returned downstairs he found Smith waiting next to an open front door, cane in hand. Smith's old age had caught up with him, and it was difficult for him to walk without help of the cane.

Link passed the threshold and strode out onto the street, still covered in snow from the last snow-fall three days ago. Smith pulled out the house's key and locked the door before joining Link and the two quickly set off from the Nohansen Manor. They arrived within the hour, though Smith continued to refuse to divulge the reason onto way they were going.

As soon as they arrived and knocked, maids ushered the two inside. "Link, you can go into the banquet hall with the rest." One maid said, pushing him in the right direction. "Mister Smith, Master Nohansen would like a word."

"'Course he does." Smith said gruffly as he followed the maid. Link waved a quick farewell before heading off to the banquet hall. As he approached, he heard a cacophony of voices, like there were dozens of people crowded in the hall. Link soon saw this as correct as he entered. While the hall normally had a long table stretching across the length of the room, it had disappeared and in it's place were almost thirty people clustered in various groups throughout the room. Many were around Link's age, give or take a year and the older folk were likely the parents. Link walked in casually, not sure what to do. After a few seconds of thought, he opted to lean against the wall.

Near him stood a young man speaking animatedly with a orange-haired girl. Link observed them until the man looked up a saw his stare. "Hey!" He said, waving his hand.

"Hello." Link returned, giving a small wave. "Do you know why we're here?" He questioned, trying to start a conversation.

The man shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm Pipit by the way." Pipit stuck out his arm for Link to shake. "I'm Link." Link said as he firmly shook Pipit's hand. "And this is Karane." Pipit motioned to the orange-haired girl, who gave a wave.

Link nodded. "So neither of you have any idea why we're here?" The issue was beginning to eat away at Link. "My mother didn't tell me why she brought my here." Karane answered as she motioned to a older lady with a similar hair color. "It's right suspicious if you ask me."

"Same thing here." Pipit agreed. "I don't even know any of these people."

Link raised an eyebrow. "Not even Lord Nohansen?" The other two both shook their heads. "Why, do you?" Pipit asked curiously.

"I'm friends with his daughter."

Pipit smirked. "Oh, gotcha, 'friends'." He said with a wink while Karane giggled.

Link gave Pipit an exasperated look. "It's not like that." He grumbled.

"Yeah, sur-."

However, a loud snort interrupted Pipit undoubtedly sarcastic reply. The source of the sound was a tall, very muscular youth who had his hair done up in a single spike, which look quite ridiculous in Link's opinion.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Pipit asked, squinting at the pompadoured man.

"Oh nothing." The man replied casually. "It's just that I doubt Lord Nohansen's daughter would see _that_ ," he pointed at Link, "as anything other than a friend, and even then he should cunt himself lucky."

Link furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, do you a problem with me?" He asked with a hint of anger.

"What makes you think that?" The red-head asked with a snarky tone.

Link scanned him up and down. Something about the rude man seemed familiar...

"I remember you!" Link declared. "You're that jerk from the festival seven years ago that almost knocked me into the ground. Your name was Gus or something."

"Groose." The brute correctly sharply, glaring at Link. "So what if I shoved. You probably deserved it. Besides, did hwurt you bwaby." He mocked before breaking out in laughter.

"No you didn't." Link said coolly. "But that hairdo of yours _is _ hurting my eyes."

Groose stopped laughing immediately and glared daggers at Link. "What did you just say?" He snarled, attempting to grab at Link.

"Whoa!" Pipit quickly stepped into between the two. "Let's not have a fight in the former King of Hyrule's home, shall we?" He turned to Groose. "You should go somewhere else."

Groose glared at Pipit, undoubtedly thinking to ignore the suggestions, but finally snorted out, "Fine." and walked off, shooting Link one last glared as he left them alone.

Link sighed in relief, not realizing how tense he had become. He didn't think he would be able to take on Groose in fight. At least not without getting pretty hurt. "Thanks Pipit."

"Don't worry yourself over him, Link." Pipit said, waving off his thanks. "He's just some idiot."

"I know." At that moment, the doors of the banquet hall swung open and in strode Gaepora followed by his daughter and a large group of people, including Smith. Zelda had matured into quite the beautiful young lady, something that Link had grown aware of as he grew. He looked across the room and saw Groose staring at Zelda, eying her like a hunter finding particularly good game, with lust and want. When he noticed Link looking at him, the brute quickly sent glare his way, something which Link returned wholeheartedly.

Zelda walked up beside Link. "Hello." She said softly as she watched her father continued to the back of the room.

"Hey. Do you know why-?"

"Shhhh." Zelda held a finger up to her lips. "My father is about to speak."

Gaepora had reached the end of the room and had turned to face the assembled crowd. "Greeting." His voice easily boomed throughout the room. "Undoubtedly, many of the younger folk here are wondering why they are in a old king's manor, being spoken to be said old king." There were a few nods. "Well, you see, every adult here belongs to... an organization. An organization dedicated to protecting Hyrule from those who seek to destroy it." Link looked around the room, seeing curiosity and suspicion of the faces of the assembled young adults, while the older ones were attentive or displeased.

Gaepora looked around as well before continuing. "We call ourselves the Order of the Knights of Hyrule, in honor of the Army of the Knights of Hyrule who sacrificed themselves centuries ago to protect this land."

"Now, you may be asking what or who exactly we seek to stop. Undoubtedly, many of you are considering Termina as the foe. However, the evil that we face transcends political boundaries. In fact, you could say we even fight Hyrule herself." Confused looks flashing across the crowd. "We fight another organization. The Disciples of Demise. A large portion of this nation's Parliament is, in fact, members of the Disciples, and are actively seeking to destroy this nation." The assembled began to murmur quietly at this claim until Gaepora cleared his throat and everyone quieted down. He scanned the room his eyes landing on Link and piercing the boy with such intensity that Link felt the next words were directed at him. "Even the Great Minister of Hyrule is a Disciple, and is personally responsible for the murders of many loved ones to the people within this room." Link shifted uncomfortably and felt Zelda grip his arm and give it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go.

"Why am I telling you this? It's simple really." Gaepora once again cleared his throat before continuing, even though no one was talking and he had the room's complete attention. "Many of the Order's current members are past their prime. They grow more old and frail by the day," Link saw Gaepora's eyes flick towards Smith. "Therefore I , the Order's Grand Master, have decided that it is time to recruit the next generation of Knights to continue the fight."

"Gaepora!" A woman, who Link recognized as Karane's mother, shouted angrily "You can't honest;y expect these _children_ to take on a responsibility this great? They're still young and immature, and children have no business fighting a war!" Several other parents nodded in agreement.

"I'm not going to force them to join, Ginerva!" Gaepora said with a hint of annoyance. "It is their decision to make, and they can take how ever long they need to make it."

Ginerva opened her mouth to continue the argument, but another woman, Zelda's nanny, Impa, stopped. "Come now. Let us go outside. The fresh air will calm you."

Ginerva glared at Impa, before sighing, her shoulders slumping in resignation. "Very well." The pair walked out the room and the room's attention shifted back to Gaepora. "A-hem. As I said, the decision to join is yours. You will not be coerced in any way to become a Knight. So, if you do want to join the Order, you can speak with me, whether it's now, or in a few days time. That will be all." Gaepora finished, however he stood still, waiting. It didn't take a genius to figure out the man was waiting for someone to come out and say they will join the Knights of Hyrule. However, practically everyone shifted their eyes away from the awaiting old man, even Zelda, his own daughter.

It took Link a few seconds to realize why. They were all _scared_ and rightfully so. After all, if what Gaepora said was true, they would be facing enemies that carried a lot of influence in Hyrule. Link felt the fear as well, but it was being diluted by something else. It took him a minute to realize that he felt more anger and a desire for revenge. Ganondorf had killed his parents, and now here sat the path to killing the dark man in return.

"I will join!" Link's voice echoed throughout the banquet hall. Gaepora took on a look of admonishment, apparently losing hope that anyone would join so quickly, but immediately recovered. "Indeed?"

"Yes." Link said, taking on a dark look. "The Disciples killed my parents. I will do anything to stop them, and return the favor."


	5. Chapter 5

April 19, 1774

Nearly a month had passed since the gathering at the manor. The air had warmed and the Spring Festival came once again, though from what Link heard, it was no longer as grand as previous festivals, undoubtedly due to the war. Link hadn't bothered to go to this year's festival, namely because the shop was swamped with orders from the Hyrulian Grand Army.

Link usually was working from dusk to dawn, often with Smith hovering over his shoulder and inspecting the final products. He heated, hammered, and cooled metal, shaping them into swords, musket parts, or just the metal bits needed to make a Hyrulian uniform. The work seemed unending. One order would be completed, only to have another take it's place.

Now Link sat in front of the fireplace, head thrown back and eyes closed from another day of hard. He sighed in comfort and was drifting off to sleep when-

"Link! Boy!"

Link slowly opened his eyes to see Smith smiling down on him, clutching a scroll of partchment in his aging hands.

"Yes?"

"You've gotten mail, boy." Smith said, handing Link the scroll.

"What's this? Another order from the army?" Link looked disdainfully at the scroll. He'd rather not get another infernal weapons order from the Army. Honestly, how many swords does one army need?

"No. Open it up and read it." Smith grinned. Link unraveled the scroll and instantly recognized the handwriting of Zelda.

_ Dear Link,_

_ How are you and Smith? I hope everything is going well. Life at the Manor has been dull, even if I do now know what Impa is doing when she disappears for days at a time. By the way, I have officially joined the Order! And so have a lot of other people! I think you're the one that motivated a lot of them. Anyways, Father wanted me to let you know that our training to become Knights will start tomorrow. By at the Manor by 8 o'clock. See you then!_

_ Love,_

_ Zelda_

Link couldn't help but grin a little at the thought of seeing Zelda. He folded up the letter and looked up to see Smith looking at him expectantly. "Well?"

"What?"

"What's in the letter, boy?" Smith raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure you already know."

"I have a good guess," Smith admitted. "But humor me this once."

"Fine. It's from Zelda. Knight training starts tomorrow." Link explained.

Smith beamed. "I knew it. You'll make a great knight, my boy."

"Thanks." Link stood up. "I'm going to go bed now, it's been a long day."

Smith didn't respond, instead staring solemnly at Link's face, a completely turn around from his cheerful mood a few seconds.

"Is something wrong- urk!" Smith pulled Link into a bone-crushing hug that reminded the young man that old age hadn't taken all of Smith's strength. "I'm proud of you Link." Smith said hoarsely. "And I know your parents would be too."

Link hugged his caretaker back. "Thanks Gramps."

Smith let go and grabbed Link by the shoulders. "You're the son I never had, Link. I love ya."

"I love you too Gramps." Link smiled.

"Good man. Now get to bed, you have a big day tomorrow."

Link nodded and hurried up to his room, quickly changing out of his dirty smithing clothes and falling asleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

April 20, 1774 

Link woke early and began to prepare to head up to the Nohansen Manor. He threw on a set of durable clothing, anticipating physical activity, that consisted of a white shirt and tan pants and proceeded to eat a small breakfast before heading out.

The morning air was crisp and cold, but not uncomfortably so. He walked down the empty cobblestone street. The city hadn't awoken yet, and it was almost eerie to see the streets so empty. He continued on his journey, trying to guess how the training would be like as the city woke from it's slumber. There would undoubtedly would be some form a physical activity, that much he was sure.

After an hour on walking, he finally arrived at the Nohansen Manor. He knocked on the door, with quickly opened and resulted in him being rushed inside by a busy maid. "The rest of you lot are in the gardens." The maid said irritably before bustling off to what ever she had been doing before, leaving Link alone.

Link began to walk to the gardens, observing the fine painting that adorned the walls. Even though he had seen them hundreds of times, he sat felt like when he was young, walking down the hall for the first time. He also still liked the sea battle painting the most.

He arrived at the gardens entrance and pushed the doors opened to find over a dozen teenagers standing around, chattering amongst themselves. Instantly he saw Zelda, who was standing by herself, looking furious at the ground. Link walked up to her. "Hey."

Zelda looked up and her face softened once she saw Link. "Oh, hello Link."

"You don't very happy, is something wrong?" Link looked at her with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Zelda said. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all." She keep a straight face, but had an unnaturally high pitch to her voice, something the Link knew developed whenever his best friend was upset. He narrowed his eyes, but didn't push the matter. Pestering Zelda was a quick way at getting her angry.

"HEY LINK!"

Link turned and saw Pipit and Karane striding towards him, waving and smiling.

"Pipit! Karane! You guys are becoming Knights too?" Link exclaimed.

"Don't look so surprised." Pipit said dismissively "I wouldn't miss this for a million rupees."

"Yeah, well I had to have a fight with my mother in to join. She doesn't any of us are ready." Karane said with a frown, and Link remembered her mother's protests.

"Well, this is just training, right?" Link asked. "We aren't putting our lives on the line yet."

Karane shrugged her shoulders. "Well, mothers will be mothers."

"Tell me about it." Zelda huffed, causing Link to jump. He had nearly forgotten she was there.

"Oh really?" Karane smirked. "Let me hear your story then." Zelda obliged and with seconds both girls were quietly insulting both their mothers. Link took Pipit to the side, out of earshot of the two young women. "Say Pipit, did anything happen to Zelda before I got here?"

Pipit looked of to the side. "Hm, well, I did see Groose talking with her."

Link felt a flare of irritation at the brute's name. "Really."

"Yeah... I don't know what they were talking about, but she tore the guy a new one. Ran away with his tail in between his legs." Pipit laughed. "It was pretty hilarious." Link smiled. "He's not as tough as he likes to think he is."

At that moment, the entrance to the gardens opened and in walked Impa and a man. Both wore hooded robes that stopped at the knees and carried several weapons in their arms, which were unceremoniously thrown to the ground with a loud clatter that caught the attention of everyone in the gardens.

"Alright!" Impa called with an authoritative tone. "All of you line up in front of me. Now!" The trainees quickly assembled themselves into a line facing the Shiekah. She walked down the length of the line, examining each one of the recruits in turn. "Now let me make something clear." Impa said as she continued. "Your normal lives have no meaning here. I don't care about your gender, position in society, or relationships I may have with you. All of you will but subjected to the same harsh trails that is training. You are not Knights yet. You will that honor if, and only if, you complete training. This not a task for the weak-willed." She stopped at the end of the line and turned to face all of them. "I will push you to your limits, and then beyond. I expect utter obedience while I do so. Understood?"

There were a few meek voices that murmured "yes". This only seemed to further infuriate Impa. "When I ask you a question, you answer 'No ma'am', or 'Yes ma'am' in a loud, clear voice! Understood?!"

"Yes ma'am!" The recruits said in unison.

"Hmph. Good." She gestured towards the man that had come with her. "This is Eagus. He'll be helping me turn you lot in Knights."

Eagus nodded and smiled, seemingly the complete opposite of Impa.

"Now! I want all of you to run around the walls of the gardens fifty times. If you stop or slow down, I'll make you start all over again. Now get to it!"

"Yes ma'am!" The recruits, including Link bellowed, before going off to start the running. Link followed, realizing that training will be a hundred times harder that he anticipated.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

June 29, 1774

Training was a grueling affair. The recruits were expected to wake early and head to the manor for the training everyday. They would begin with running the perimeter of the garden fifty times, doing thirty push-ups, and thirty sit-ups. After this the training would vary day-to-day. Sometimes, they would focus on weapons, something that Impa introduced on the second day. It seemed that every type of weapon in existence was in that garden. Swords, axes, pistols, and weapons that Link never even seen. They were also introduced to a weapon of the Knights own invention called the Bladed Gauntlet. At first glance, it looked like a regular gauntlet made out of brown leather, but hidden under the wrist was a six-inch, razor-sharp blade. Everyday they trained with the Gauntlet and another kind of weapon, and, if possible, how to use both at the same time.

Other days, they simply focused on physical activity. Impa would make them run, jump, climb, tumble, and roll throughout the gardens. Link quickly found that he was one of the few that were already in good-shape. Many other recruits were not used to the physical requirements, and many, including Zelda, Pipit, and Karane, had immense trouble keeping up with Impa's demands.

Link soon found himself in an intense rivalry with Groose. While Groose was stronger, and could often do strength related obstacles with ease, Link had better stamina, agility, and a pain tolerance built up after years of being burned by a hot forge. The rivalry was most intense during sparring days, where Impa split the recruits into pairs and they had to spar, sometimes with dulled weapons. Groose would challenge Link, and sometimes Groose would overpower Link and win, while other times Link would manage to hold out until Groose's fiercesome, but tiring assault subsided and he would triumph.

The rivalry extended beyond the two, splitting the recruits into two factions, each rooting for their champion. Link often walked away with several bruises, even if he won, though he made sure to return the favor.

After every session, the recruits would eat a good meal at the manor before returning home, aching and sore for some much needed sleep. However Link found the aches to lessen and the sessions less rigorous as he adapted. The recruits also began to improve. Zelda managed to finish a perimeter run without nearly collapse. Pipit could do all the push-ups plus a few more. Every passing day saw the recruits get stronger, and more skilled until on evening Impa smiled and said. "Even though you are far from ready to be Knights, I must admit, you all are progressing quite well."

However, Link worried about Smith. The old man had temporarily closed down the forge, seeing as he was too old and frail to replace Link at the forge. Smith had saved enough money to keep himself afloat, and Lord Nohansen often sent a few rupees home with Link, which Smith reluctantly accepted.

Now, two months later, Link stood in line, mulling over these thoughts as Impa made some speech about the importance of Knighthood. He was so deep in his own thoughts that Pipit had to jab his back when Impa ended her tirade and let the recruits off to begin sparing.

"C'mon Link. The Red Terror is waiting for you."

Sure enough, Groose was waiting for him, with the rest of the recruits looking on and casting bets. Pipit ran up and stood between the two, taking it upon himself to act as a referee and commentator after the past few battles.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" He yelled. "Are you ready for your fight of the week?!" The crowd, consisting of twenty-two teenagers cheered.

"Here we have the RED TERROR!" Pipit said, gesturing at Groose, His followers cheering and yelling loudly. "And his opponent the GREEN ARROW!" Link felt a twang of annoyance. Pipit had also decided to give him and Groose nicknames, with new ones every fight.

"Good luck, Link!" He heard Zelda call. "Yeah, kick his ass!" Karane chimed in.

"Ready to go down, pipsqueak?" Groose sneered. Link simply grunted and got in a fighting stance.

Pipit turned to the two of them. "Now guys. I want a fair fight this time around. Groose, no aiming at the head. And Link, don't throw sand into his eyes again, okay?"

Both competitors nodded, not taking their eyes off each other.

"Okay. Get Ready! Set! FIGHT!"

Groose instantly charged at Link, who, expecting it, rolled out of the way. As always, Groose was going for the strategy of beating Link senseless. As always, Link just had to avoid him until he tired himself out. But this wasn't always the case. One slip up is all Groose needed to end the fight, so Link had to flawlessly execute his dodges as to not leave an opening for the brute. Groose spun around and eyed Link like a bull preparing to charge. Link got ready to dodge and, sure enough, Groose ran towards him, yelling at the top of his lungs.

However, to Link's surprise, Groose stopped just in front of him, not going for the usual tackle attempt. Catching Link off guard, Groose pelted him with a solid blow to the gut, sending Link sprawling of the ground. Link's supporters groaned while Groose's cheered. Link didn't waste a second. He rolled across the ground and jumped onto his feet, knowing that if Groose got on top of him, the fight was over. His prediction was proved correct when his saw Groose's fist slam down where his head used to be only a second before. So much for not aiming at the head.

Groose went at him, pelting punches at Link, who dodged and deflected the blows. Unfortunately, Groose had turned the tables with his previous maneuver, and now Link was up close and personal with a fully-charge, fully-angry Groose. He could barely keep Groose at bay, and the fight quickly became a test of Link's endurance. Would he be able to withstand the assault long enough for Groose to tire out, or would the blunt force of Groose's blows break him?

However, as the assault continued, Link became to notice Groose lagging his blows by seconds and breathing heavily. Link immediately switched to the offensive, throwing the brute off balance. Groose threw a wild punch which grazed Link's check, but with enough force to cause Link to instantly grab it.

Seeing weakness, Groose pulled on his last reserves of energy and charged Link, catching in him in the abdomen and throwing him to the ground, with Groose on top. Groose threw one last punch down at Link's face. Reacting instinctively, Link threw up his hand and caught Groose's fist, straining to keep away from his face.

In the seconds as the both pitted their strength against one another, they looked in each others eyes, Link's full of defiance while Groose's were full of anger. Finally, Groose's strength won out, and Link felt the fist collide with his face.

Groose stood up and his supporters cheered wildly while Link's look crestfallen. Zelda immediately went over to Link, followed by Karane and Pipit. "Are you okay?" She asked as she helped him to his feet.

"I've had worse." Link groaned, beginning to feel the pain.

"Come. Let's get you to Eagus." She said, putting his right arm over her shoulder while Pipit did the same with his left. They helped him over to Eagus, the Knight Commander, who was waiting expectantly and began to attend to Link's injuries as they drew near.

"Groose really gave you a wallop there." Eagus said as he examined Link's cheek, which had a very angry red color to it. While Eagus was in charge of the training like Impa, he wasn't has hard on the recruits, often reining in Impa's demands into something more reasonable. Chatty and friendly, all the recruits instantly preferred Eagus' less intense training to Impa's militaristic style.

When Eagus finished patching Link up, he patted the young man on the back. "You should be fine if you sit out the sparring for a bit."

"Thanks, sir."

Eagus smiled and looked over at Zelda, Karane, and Pipit. "You three should get back to training before Miss Impa notices."

"Yes sir!" Pipit said with a salute and he and Karane went off. Eagus followed with a chuckle, leaving Link alone with Zelda.

"So... another loss." Zelda said.

Link sighed. "Yeah, Groose'll be bragging about for awhile." He said spitefully.

"Yeah, well at least you've won the majority." Zelda said cheerfully, playing with a loose strand of hair.

Link raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Oh well, I've been keeping count." She said dismissively, yet a slight blush crawled to her cheeks.

"Really? Why?"

"No reason." She answered quickly.

"Okay. How far ahead am I?" Link questioned.

"Thirteen."

Link smiled. "That's not too bad if I do say so myself. I'll make sure to remind Groose and make his face as red as his red." The two chuckled at the thought.

"ZELDA NOHANSEN!"

"Uh oh."

Impa was glaring daggers at Zelda. "Get over here and start sparring! Knights don't laze around!"

"Talk to you later." Zelda said quickly before running to begin her sparring.

Link chuckled. Even though the training was hard, he had found that he enjoyed it to a certain extent, and wouldn't change his decision to become a Knight if asked again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

January 15, 1775

Winter came, and with it snow. However, this didn't stop the recruits from reporting to the manor everyday and Impa demanding they do their taxing exercises. The past year saw the recruits become stronger and very skilled. The morning exercises, such as the perimeter run, became considerably easier. They all were familiar with every weapon Impa and Eagus could find, though most chose to focus their weapons training on one or two different kinds. They all were also proficient marksmen and women, with Impa focusing a month of training on the use of firearms and bows.

Link's and Groose's weekly brawls were a thing of the past, not because the two had resolved to become friendly with one another, but because the fights became increasingly violent until Lord Nohansen himself intervened, banning Link and Groose from ever laying a finger on the other again. No longer bound by Groose's weekly challenges, Link began to spar with other trainees, but found the matches disappointing to say the least. Whereas his fights with Groose were always challenging and exciting, the fights with others usually led to Link winning, even when he held himself back on purpose to try and give his opponent a chance. It wasn't because the other trainees were bad at hand-to-hand combat, it was just that Link's horrendous duels with Groose had shaped him into a better fighter.

This was often the foremost complaint on Link's mind, something that he often voiced to his companions, often irking them.

He was sullenly complaining this day as he sat behind Zelda and Pipit, watching Karane spar with a boy named Collin, much to the chagrin of his two friends. Finally Zelda had enough, turning around and glaring at Link. "We've heard this a million times now, Link."

"That's nice." Link said.

"Look, if you want to spar, why don't you try with me?" Zelda offered.

Link snorted. "You can't be serious. You're kidding, right?" He asked with an amused smile.

Zelda looked indignant. "Of course I'm not kidding." Pipit had turned around as well, watching the exchange with a mildly interested look.

"Look Zelda, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm looking for a challenge." Link said.

"And why do you think I can't be a challenge?" Zelda asking, looking extremely offended.

"I-."

"It's because I'm a woman, isn't it?" Zelda continued to press, her voice increasing in volume that began to attract curious looks.

"No, of course not-"

"You know what I've noticed?" Zelda asked angrily. "You never even considered sparring with a woman. At all. You always ask other men. You're sexist, Link."

"I am NOT sexist!" Link vehemently denied.

"Oh yeah? Prove me wrong then."

"She has a point, Link." Pipit piped up. Link glared at the man, before returning his attention to Zelda. "I'm not going to fight you."

"Why? Are you too scared." Zelda taunted, jumping to her feet. By now, all the other recruits had stopped what they were doing and were watching the exchange with great interest.

"No, I'm not." Link grumbled.

"Then come on!" Zelda persisted. Link sighed, looking imploringly over at Pipit, who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Just do it."

"Yeah Link!"

"Come on!"

The other recruits began egging Link on while circling around the two. Link begrudgingly pushed himself to his feet while Zelda got into a fighting stance, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Are we really going to do this?" Link asked exasperatedly.

"Of course." Zelda said.

Link sighed, but went into a fighting stance, seeing that Zelda had made up her mind. The encircling crowd began cheering, and Link noticed practically all were cheering for Zelda, the underdog in this situation.

Both combatants began circling each. Link knew Zelda was more strategic, and tended to try and turn her opponents attacks against them, something that was quite effective from what he observed. However, she could be easily flustered and that could lead to recklessness.

Tired of waiting for Link to strike, Zelda struck out first, purposely feinting to Link's left, forcing him to block with his left arm. He felled for the ploy and paid for it by receiving a solid kick to the gut. He stumbled backwards and barely managed to right himself in time to block a flurry of quick jabs from Zelda. After withstanding the assault, Link switched to the offense and threw a single punch, only to have Zelda catch his arm by the wrist and throw him on to the ground using his own momentum.

The crowd cheered for Zelda as Link pulled himself back on to his feet. "C'mon Link!" Zelda called, slightly out of breath and bouncing on her feet. "Don't hold back just because I'm a girl."

"Who said I was holding back." Link growled. With that Link charged and threw a few punches, only for Zelda to block them. Her leg flashed out as she tried another kick, but Link caught her by the foot. However, before Link could do anything, Zelda rapidly twisted about, yanking her leg from Link's grip and then stood, faced him, and attacked.

Both were running on instinct now, barely thinking while they blocked each attack or threw each blow. However, neither managed to land a hit as both seemed too good at dodging and blocking. Zelda managed to maneuver under Link's arm when he tried to attack her and come up behind, but Link quickly managed to spin around in time to block the attack. It soon began to seem less like a sparring match and more like a dance as the two combatants dodged, maneuvered, and blocked each other. Seeing that neither were gaining the upper hand, both stopped staring at each other. Zelda was sweating profusely and Link watched a single drop ran down her neck to her heaving-

Link gulped embarrassingly and returned his gaze to Zelda's face, but she didn't seem to have noticed. Both were out of breath and contemplating whether to continue.

"I think it would suffice to call this a draw."

Impa stood out from the crowd and stood between them. "Now if you don't mind, I have something rather important to tell all of you."

Both teenagers nodded, and quickly backed into the crowd.

"You're not that bad." Link whispered in Zelda's ear, causing her to smirk and say, "I surprised you, did I not?"

Link chuckled. "You could say that." He admitted.

Zelda's smirk softened and she focused her attention on Impa, who stood in the middle of the circle of recruits.

"First off," Impa began. "I want to let all of you know how proud I am of your progress the past nine months. And I am not the only one. Grandmaster Nohansen himself is quite pleased, and he believes it is time for all of you to be officially inducted into the Order as full-fledged Knights." This caused the crowd to ripple with murmurs of excitement. Impa waited for the noise to die down before continuing. "Now, your knighting will take place a week from now, however there is one more thing that needs to be attended to." The trainees stood in silence, completely focused on Impa and waiting for her to continue. Impa pulled out a piece of folded parchment from under her robe. "Grandmaster Nohansen currently sees fit to divide all of you into 'teams'." She looked thoroughly annoyed by the idea, while her audience simply looked on curiously. "Under that philosophy, he has created this list," Impa waved the piece of parchment. "Which contains the groups as he sees that they ought to be." She began to unfold it. "And let me inform you that I had no say in the creation of this. If you have any complaints about your assigned group, please take it up with the Grandmaster, and not me."

She then completely unfolded the parchment and began reading off who was in the first few group. Link instantly noticed that the groups consisted of trainees that were good friends already. When they found their friends in the same group, the recruits would happily join with one another watching as Impa called the names of the next group. And the next one.

"The next group consists of..."

The unassigned crowd waited for Impa to continue with bated breath.

"Zelda."

"Pipit."

"Karane."

"Link."

Zelda instantly turned around and gave Link a dazzling smile as Pipit and Karane made their way over to them. "Group-buddies!" Karane waved cheerfully. Impa scowled at their lightheartedness and continued.

"And Groose."

Zelda's smile abruptly left, replaced by a look of shock, and then outrage.

"What?!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lord Nohansen gave a great start, spilling ink over the documents he was working, when Zelda forcefully hit the door to his study open and stomped in seething, followed by Link, Pipit, Karane, and Groose."

"Zelda what is the meaning of this?" Nohansen asked angrily.

"No father! You tell me the meaning of _this_!" Zelda cried in outrage, jabbing a finger at Groose who looked offended.

"Oh yes. I was expecting you to ask me about sooner or later." The old lord said nonchalantly.

Zelda waited several seconds, expecting for him to elaborate. When he did not, it only served to enrage her further. "Well?' Zelda demanded. "Why is Groose in our group?!"

"Group? Is that what Impa has been calling them? I prefer something more awe-inspiring. Like squad, or cell-"

"The name isn't the issue, father!" Zelda interrupted angrily. "Why did you place Groose in ours?"

"Ah, well, it was because if the quarrels those two got into."

Zelda gave her father an incredulous look. "That's the worst reason I have ever heard."

"Allow me to finish." Her father said grumpily. "Because of Link's and Groose's animosity towards one another, I believed that making them interacting in situations that didn't involve fighting one another would be beneficial."

"So you put him in _our _group?" Zelda asked indignantly.

"Indeed. And before you ask, no, I am not changing my decision."

"But-."

"I am not changing my decision." the lord repeated sternly.

Zelda glared at her father before huffing and storming out of the study, with the others following her. Out in the hallway, Groose pushed past the others and made his way off, looking quite angry. Zelda was still fuming.

"Um, Karane and I are going to go back to the gardens." Pipit said tentatively. Link nodded. "Go on then." Both quickly went off, wanting the stay as far away from the angered Zelda as possible. Now only Link and Zelda stood in the silence of the corridor.

"So-"

"I can't believe him!" Zelda exclaimed, cutting Link off and launching into a lengthy tirade against her father. Link had learned long ago that it was best to keep one's mouth shut and simply nod in agreement with Zelda when she was this angry, least you bring her wrath down upon you.

Finally when Zelda finished her rant, she sighed in defeat. She looked up at him. "You're awfully quiet. Having Groose in our group doesn't bother you?"

"As long as he doesn't start anything, I don't care."

"Hm. Well thank you for putting up with that whole incident, Link. You truly are a great friend."

"Zelda." Link began sincerely. "I am and always will be your best friend."

Zelda smiled and locked eyes with him. Link thought he saw a flicker of disappointment in the blue depths of her eyes. Zelda suddenly pulled the young man into a tight hug. "Thanks Link." She murmured.

Link returned the embrace and a few second later the two broke apart. "We should get back to the gardens before Impa misses us." Zelda said.

"Yeah, I don't feel like doing a hundred laps around the perimeter."

The two quickly began walking down the hall. As they did so, Link once again busied himself with his thoughts. In one week, he will be an official Knight and will be able to begin his fight against the Disciples of Demise.

And Ganondorf.

**Another chapter complete! What do you guys think so far? The next few chapters will start really ramping up the action, so don't worry. After receiving a few criticisms of missing words and such I made sure to proof-read this one extra-hard! Please don't be shy to point out other mistakes and as always, Read and Review!**


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